The sleeping emperor Barbarossa

Barbarossa, one of the greatest German emperors, became a legend after the fall of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Mount Kyffhäuser, on which Barbarossa had a mighty castle built, has been a mountain of souls and the dead and the seat of the gods since the Stone Age. According to popular legend, Barbarossa moved to Kyffhäuser, where he slept until the empire was in great need and required him again. Then, according to the legend, when the ravens stopped flying around the mountain, Barbarossa would awaken and ride into battle with his knights. It is highly interesting that the folklore attached the ravens to Barbarossa as attributes of Wodan. As a result of the attempt to unify the empire, Germany experienced a great upswing in the Staufer period, towns were founded, justice was restored, culture and trade were promoted, and peasants had great opportunities to own their own land and enjoy greater freedom by opening up large areas of land in the east of the empire.